


City of Rain

by Romanroyale



Category: Original Story
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-07
Updated: 2018-06-20
Packaged: 2019-05-19 05:31:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14867556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Romanroyale/pseuds/Romanroyale





	1. 1

Dear Steve, 

Things haven’t been the same since you’ve gone. Or left. Or… whatever. I mean somethings are still the same. Kingston is still the same little sleepy town you would remember from the outside. Population of 1,000, city of rain. That stuff is the same. But things feel different now. And maybe it was always this way but now that you’re gone I can finally see what the world actually looks like. People are going missing. Shelly thinks that people are just up and leaving because “It’s so damn depressing” in this town. But I don’t think so. I think people are realizing just how evil this stupid town is and are getting killed for it.   
I’ve been back by the casino, and I know… I shouldn’t have but I just want some answers. No one will let me in. They won’t tell me anything. The cops know something. Jason knows something I know he does and he wont tell me. I think he’s scared too. Scared of this stupid town. But I’m not scared. I’m going to go there find out what happened there or I’m going to burn this whole place to the fucking ground.   
I can feel you looking at me disapproving. Reading this. But I can’t just sit here anymore….I’ll write more soon. 

I love you,   
Ash

\-------  
Heavy rain slopped down on the windows of Jessica’s car. It’s constant taps on the glass were like a heartbeat to listen to. Thunk, thunk, thunk. Jessica’s fingers were gripping the steering wheel tightly, knuckles straining under all the pressure. Her car, a non-descript four door sedan with sun tanned windows, peeling paint and a broken bumper, was sitting In the middle of an abandoned road. Right in the middle. Around her, were businesses, closed for the night as they did every night in Kingston.   
There were no other cars on the road and the streetlights were flickering and their brightness was being muted underneath all of the heavy rain. Straight ahead Jessica could see the bank. It was one of two banks in the entire town and was so heavily used that the bank was allowed to expand and make some renovations. She could see the parked bulldozers and wiring and wood that had been abandoned for an entire week due to the rain.   
There was no construction in the rain. There was no one during the rain. That’s the way Kingston worked. It got rainy days more than it got sunshine and those days that it rained was enough to put people out of work, but not too much to flood the place. 

“C’mon…” Jessica whispered looking left and right out of the windows and hardly seeing anything but the businesses looking back disproving at her. She was in the middle of the street because she didn’t want to risk her plates getting picked up by any of the cameras. But she wasn’t sure she could sit there much longer out in the open like this.   
There was this feeling that someone was watching her rolling around In her head but she was trying to chalk it up to paranoia. There was no one on the street with her. And that should have calmed her but it didn’t.

A loud sound made Jessica jump out of her skin as she looked forward. She could see off in the distance, two figured coming out of the bank full bags in their hands. She breathed out a sigh of relief and was just about to turn her lights on when she saw them walking towards her. 

She was finally going to be able to take off from the scarily quiet street. She hated being the getaway driver, but what choice did she have? It wasn’t like she could go and rob the bank herself. Or that she even wanted to. She looked down for a second at the cast on her left leg. It was hard to see in the dark but she could see it just below her knee. Mocking her. 

She looked back up remembering that she was supposed to drive towards the bank when she saw something flash by the side of the car. She covered her mouth to control a gasp. She looked back out the window and there was nobody there. She looked forward again desperate now to leave and there was no one before her. The bank was still in the distance but her two … acquaintances if you could call them that were nowhere to be found. She looked around again and seeing nothing she flicked her lights on. 

In the distance near the mouth of the bank stood one figure. It was a tall and hulking shadow and it seemed to be bent over something. She could tell that it was a person and not an animal. 

“What the hell?” She whispered to herself. She felt her blood run cold as the figure turned to her and all she could feel was eyes on her. 

“Screw this.” She said putting the car in reverse and peeling away as quick as she could down Harrison Road. 

She looked over her shoulder her hear beating as fast as the rain on her windshield. There was no one there. What the hell had just happened? 

\----------  
Deep inside the sleepy rainy town of Kingston was a small ranch. It was a tiny farm in comparison to the ones around the rest of the neighboring cities but it was there nonetheless. The farm had long since been in disuse. The crops had dried up and the animals had been sold off or killed. But the large shed that lived on the property was the only thing that was worth seeing. Even from a mile away, in the dark and the rain you could see the lights peeking out from every side of the shed. There were so many woods in the patch work that they made shadows on the floor. 

Inside was something to behold. Where you would have expected an empty abandoned shed, there was a thriving and throbbing dance floor. There were booths on each side of the wall and a make shift bar in the back. It was warm from body heat, horny teens and predatory middle aged men. 

Jordyn was maneuvering the floor as if she had been born there, and she practically was. Her apron was sticking to her pants in the heat and the two trays she was holding in her hands were wobbling slightly under all the used cups and plates. She had a handle of it though. She shot a glare at a mostly toothless man who had been staring at her on and off for most of the night. He looked away but she could feel his eyes on her backside as she moved towards the kitchen. 

Janet was standing at the bar rubbing glasses with a dishrag that Jordyn wasn’t so sure was clean. Janet looked at Jordyn as she set down a new set of dishes for her to wash. Janet groaned at the large pile of work Jordyn was depositing on her. 

“Can’t I just quit?” She asked not being serious, at least Jordyn didn’t think she was. 

Jordyn smiled before picking up three more plates of food in her two hands. 

“There is no severance package when you work at an illegal bar in a chicken coop.” Jordyn said. Janet laughed throwing her head back and everything into it. 

“You’re right sunshine. Plus I wouldn’t get to work with you.”   
Jordyn smiled back at Janet before exiting the bar area and heading back into the chaos that was Friday nights at Johnny’s. 

Three more tables of goofy teen boys, drunk 21 year old girls, and creepy middle aged men were served and Jordyn was checking her watch trying to figure out how many half an hours she had left until she could run out in the rain to her car and get home. 

The night was going like a usual night. Pop music was blaring from the speakers, people were dancing and drinking and having the only fun you could really have in Kingston. Things didn’t turn left until he walked into the bar. Jordyn was making her usual walk from the floor to the bar when the door’s creaked open. It was getting close to closing and Jordyn was annoyed because more people were entering. 

But it was someone she had never seen before. With a frown she studied the man. He was wearing all black jeans and an all black shirt. They were soaked because of the rain outside which was strange to Jordyn. Everyone in Kingston had sweaters or jackets or umbrella’s every time they left their home. 

It was this that gave Jordyn the idea that this man was not from the town. The other was the way he was looking around the room as if he didn’t belong. As if he was looking for someone. 

Jordyn moved next to Janet who was ringing up a customer and giving them some change. 

“Jan…. do you see this guy that just walked in?” 

As Jordyn said this the man seemed to turn towards her his eyes narrowing as if he had heard her over the loud music and talking. Janet looked up from the register and Jordyn could visibly see her tensing up. 

“Jan?” Jordyn asked raising her eyebrow. “Are you okay? Who is that guy?” 

Jordyn was feeling uneasy by the reaction that her friend had, had and the way the man was looking at them as if had some kind of business with them. She looked back over at him and he was moving to an empty table. 

“That’s my ex. Brendon” Janet breathed out after a while. 

Jordyn’s ears were hot as she looked at Janet. “ I’m assuming things didn’t end well?” 

Janet shook her head. “ I used to live in Seattle. And I moved here to get away from him.” 

Jordyn moved to the phone near the sink. “ So we’ll just call Johnny and he’ll tell him to leave-“ 

Before Jordyn could pick up the phone Janet was stopping her with her hand. 

“No. Please. It’ll only get messy.”

Jordyn didn’t want to pry but she also could fell the fear rolling off of Janet. 

“Look when it’s time to leave I’ll walk you out and you can spend the night at mines.” 

Janet smiled gratefully. “ Okay.. Thanks J.” 

The remaining half an hour went by without any hiccups. It mostly consisted of calling cabs and friends for the severely incapacitated and the drunk. As the bar started to close up Brendon hadn’t moved. Jordyn feeling a little ballsy but mostly scared walked up to the man dressed in all black. 

“excuse me sir, we’re closing now if you wouldn’t mind leaving.” She said as nice as she could.   
The man stared at her hard without saying anything for longer than was socially normal. Jordyn wanted to run but she stood her ground looking right back in the eyes. After a while he nodded and stood. 

“Sure lady.” He said gruffly before bumping into her as he left the bar. Jordyn watched as he left looking over his shoulder in Janet’s direction. As soon as he was clear of the doors, Jordyn threw off her apron and began to swtich off lights. The few patrons left moaned and complained and began to make their way to the door.   
“C’mon Jan, we gotta leave while they do.” Jordyn was saying. 

“What about cleaning up? Johnny will be pissed.

“Johnny can suck a dick, and the place will get cleaned up in the morning when it’s safe. But right now we gotta go.” 

Janet nodded running to take off her apron, grabbing her bag and moving to lock the back door. Jordyn watched as the group exited the building. Janet jogged up to her and they exited into the dark night. 

Jordyn flipped her hood up but was alert. She could hardly see anything now that the shed lights were off. Her breaths were coming out in puffs of cold air. She could see her car parked a few yards off but there didn’t seem to be anyone else outside. 

“Shit.” She said wondering if it would have been safer to lock up inside. 

“Let’s make a run for it.” Jordyn said. Janet nodded and the two of them took off, feet slopping in the rain towards the safety of the car. There was a sound behind them and Jordyn turned around. There was Brendon running from the barn. Her breath caught and she turned to Janet. 

“Run Faster!” She breathed out in puffs. They were at the car fast and she was already unlocking it and sliding In. Janet slammed in after her looking out the window. 

Jordyn locked the car and stuck her keys in trying to turn the engine. 

“Oh gad he’s coming!” Janet was yelling. 

“C’mon C’mon. “ Jordyn was saying as the car failed to turn over. 

Next thing she knew Brenden was standing outside Janet’s window screaming. 

“OPEN THE DOOR JANET. OPEN THE DOOR.” 

Everything about Janet changed and she was reaching for the door handle just as the car flipped over. Jordyn screamed and grabbed Janet’s hand just as she was about to open the door. 

Janet looked at her dazed before Jordyn slammed on the gas and they drove off into the night. 

“What the hell was that?!” Jordyn asked Janet water falling from her face.   
“You almost opened the door for that lunatic!” 

Janet was quiet looking at her hands. “ I don’t know……” 

\-------

“You are such a Fucking Prick!” Beth screamed slamming the door of the beat up car she was leaving. She sent a quick look at her phone screen and it illuminated in the darkness as water fell down on the screen. It was three in the morning and the rain hadn’t stopped yet. She saw the smoke billowing from the car she had just exited and rolled her eyes as the man she was sitting next to got out of the car.

The car was parked in the Kingston high school parking lot underneath the only light that seemed to be working. The smell of marijuana came rolling out of the car. And Beth knew that it was strong if you could smell it over the smoke. 

The stoned man rested his arms on the hood of the car and yelled so that Beth could hear him. 

“Tough titties, Beth. You know what the deal is. You didn’t deliver. So I’m cutting you out.” 

Beth turned around anger pulsing in every part of her body. 

“You know I need the money Henry! Just stop being an asshole and give me the weed.” 

Henry shook his head moving around the car. 

“ I don’t think you get it Beth. Let me draw you a little picture. I’m your boss. I give you the shit to sell and you sell it and I give you the cut. What you might not know is that I have a boss that gives me the shit to sell. And that guys got a boss and that guys got a boss that you really don’t want to fuck with his money. So you pull in less then I tell you too and I have to cut you loose.” 

Beth shook her head violently. “ it’s the rain Henry! You know that ! No one’s coming out of their house to buy bud! You know I’m good for it. I’m one of your top sellers. C’mon please Henry. 

Henry seems to be thinking but his eyes are traveling from top to bottom of Beth. She shivers and it has nothing to do with the rain. She has a sudden urge to run away from the creepy man. 

“I’ll keep you on….. If you suck me off right now.”

Beth took a step back and hit the back of the car her face twisted. 

“Fuck no! Fuck you Henry.” She turned to leave but Henry grabbed her hand and twisted it back. She screamed pushing his hand off her and digging in her pocket. With a swift motion meant to keep him off of her she stepped forward and shoved a knife towards him. 

She felt the knife sink into skin and tissue. She felt her fist hit his chest. Her eyes widened in the rain as she realized all at once what she had done. There was a gurgling sound form Henry. 

“Holy shit.” Beth said pulling the knife out of his chest. Henry fell to the ground and even in the dark and rain Beth could see the blood flowing freely from his chest. 

“Holy shit.” She said looking around the parking lot in panic. What was she supposed to do? She couldn’t call the cops. Her prints were all over the vehicle. 

“Breath.. Breath Beth…” She said taking several steadying breaths. Okay. She knew what she was going to do. She opened the passenger door to the car and with all her strength she picked up Henry shoving him into the car. She moved to the trunk and peered inside. 

Inside was at least 10,000 dollars worth of bud and cash. She grabbed everything she could hold and shoved it into her pockets. Then she grabbed a lighter from the corner of the car and flicked It on until it caught. She worried that the rain would put the fire out so she opened the doors and started to light the seats as well. She stood back and nothing was really catching. She bit her lips and sighed heavily. 

“C’mon Beth.” She said again before going on and catching the lighter on Henry’s clothes. The fire swallowed up his clothes and soon the fire was licking the sides of the window. Beth lifted up her hoodie with shaking fingers and ran from the parking lot. 

\-------  
The Kingston Casino was the only place in the entirety of the town that stayed open 24/7, 365 days a year. It was a relatively large Casino and the Kingston hotel was attached to it looking dingy next to the luxury hotel. It was a touristy location for people looking for an escape from Seattle. 

Ashley hated every square inch of the place. If she could take her fist through the place she would have. She was standing across the street from the opening of the casino. Watching people she’d never seen before come in and out of the casino. She knew she shouldn’t be there but she couldn’t help it. It was like she was unnaturally attracted to the place. 

In the slowing rain she saw a black car pull up to the back of the casino. She stood up taller grabbing her phone out of her pocket. She went to her camera and began to record. Her shaky voice could be heard over the rain. 

“This is the third time this week that this car has showed up at this exact time at the back of the casino.. it’s the same car I saw… that night.” She said. 

She wanted to get closer but knew she shouldn’t. It wasn’t exactly safe to even be where she was and stepping closer would surely get her into trouble. She balled her fist as she watched the car door opening and a man stepping outside. She felt a wave of chill sweep over her. She had never been able to see exactly who stepped out of the car. But the rain had finally stopped. She stepped forward almost as if she couldn’t stop her self. Somehow she was running and the car was being shut. Another man was stepping out of the car and Ashley wasn’t’ able to keep track of how close she was. How stupid she was being. 

The rain had began again picking up in vicious dropped that felt like pricks on her skin. Her breath was coming in shallow waves. 

“Jason?” She said and the police officer that had been assigned to her case. The cop she was trusting with Steve turned around and looked at her. His pale face seemed to go paler. Genuine fear was in his eyes. He didn’t seem to be caught. 

The other man that had stepped out of the car turned to look at her. A smile slowly creeping onto his face. 

“ I’ve never believed in luck Jason. But fate. Fate is entirely to powerful.” He said softly.

“What are you doing Jason! You’re with them?!” Ashley screamed over the rain. Jason shook his head in sorrow. 

“You shouldn’t have come here Ash.” Jason said. 

“YOUR’RE HIS BROTHER.” Ashley screamed water falling down her lips. She moved to step forward but she was grabbed by both of her arms. She struggled to look behind her but there was someone cloaked in all black holding her. 

“Let go of me!” She screamed. She was being grabbed and dragged towards the back door of the casino. 

“Jason!” she screamed her heart beating hard in her ears. She turned to look but could only see the man looking at her without any expression on his face.


	2. 2

The Kingston was all on its own, a treasure. A casino of grand floors and ballrooms. A place of deceptively large hallways and gold colored everything. Bigger than life, was the words that left most people’s mouth when it dropped to the floor. Ashton was proud of it. He revealed in the moment when a new comer walked down the largest hallways and couldn’t keep their mouth closed. He loved every second of the tourist beaming at his greatest accomplishment. To them it seemed as if he was just a lucky young man that inherited his father’s legacy at a far too young age. But they didn’t know that he had been there since the casino was just a thought. Just a bean dug into the ground. They had no idea that each of the years that the casino had been alive, he had been to. As a Vampire. 

He walked down these halls now his expensive boots pressing gently into the gold and red carpet underneath him. His face was a smooth emotionless one. But if you were really paying attention you would find that his fingers were pressed tight together and the corners of his mouth were pulled down slightly. There was trouble in the kingdom. His kingdom. 

At the end of one of his grand hallways there was a door that was labeled Emergency Exit Only. Ashton pushed it open without any real force and instead of being led outside of his casino he took a sharp right through another door and into a smaller grander room. 

Inside was a flourish of an ornate table and chairs gathered in a circle. In the center of the table was the largest chair and it was the only empty one. In the chairs surrounding him were, Harry, Marlon, Calum, Luke, Louis, Michael and Niall. 

At his entrance there was a palpable tension. There was a refusal for all of the men to make eye contact with their leader. Ashton say down gracefully but not without a stiffness. 

“I have 14 different degrees, 5 of which are doctorates.” Ashton said cooly. “I have a doctorates in Psychology, two in two different medical fields. But you know that I don’t have a degree in?” 

The men around the table looked up at him without speaking a word. They knew better than to do that. 

“ I don’t have a degree in your bullshit.” Ashton finished. The pull on his lips was much more pronounced now. He looked around the table one at a time. 

“ I woke this morning to reports of a dead drug dealer in a burning car at the high school, two dead college students drained of blood outside of the bank, and another dead newborn vamp that has never been in this town before.” Ashton said. 

He pulled out something from his jacket pocket which were photos of three different girls. 

“Harry.” He said turning to the man closest to his right. “we pulled prints off of what was left of the car. This girl here.” He slides over a picture and points a finger directly on her face. 

“Her name is Beth, she’s responsible for the death of one of our top dealers, Henry. Not only that but she is raising alarms that should not be raised at the high school. Take care of it. Find out what she knows. Then take care of her.” 

Harry nodded grabbed the photo and within a blur he was gone from the room. Ashton turned to another man that was at the center of the table. He held up another photo of another woman. 

“Seems that our trouble at the bank is connected to this woman, Jessica. Her plates were caught on camera. You know what to do Marlon.” 

There was a slight breeze and Marlon and the picture were gone from the room. There was one last photo and Ashton turned to the man closest to him on the right. 

He slid the photo over to him. “Louis. This one is strange. A vampire by the name of Brendon Frank was in town last night. Harassed this girl at Johnny’s from the looks of it. He turned up dead in a ditch outside of the restaurant. I want answers. And I want witnesses taken care of. Understand?” 

“You got it boss.” Louis said and in a blink Louis was gone. 

The rest of the men in the room took a palpable sigh of relief. The anger of their boss was evaporating now that those who had offended him were gone. 

Ashton sat up in his chair and imparted a smile. “Now then. Shall we get to business?” 

 

The front door to Beth’s bedroom slammed closed behind her as she crossed the threshold between her front room and her bedroom. Small droplets of water were falling from her jacket as she shook it off and let if fall onto the bed. Money and baggies of weed plopped everywhere on the bed and Beth took a deep breath. Leaving out the door she walked into her shabby kitchen that consisted of a broken stove and a window taped up with a black trash bag. Opening one of the top drawers she pulled out a bottle of store brand liquor and poured a cup. 

“Shit.” She mumbled to herself as she tried to drink from the cup in her shaking hands. If she didn’t think about it. It didn’t happen. She drained the glass a hand on her hip and her hair dripping onto the cracked linoleum. Every time she seemed to close her eyes there was the image of the burning car. It was etched into her mind. No, she couldn’t think about it. 

She made her way back to the room where the scattered illegal product and cash were still there waiting for her. 

She sat down hard on the bed and began to count it all. 

“8 thousand.” She said to herself five minutes later. “More or less.” 

This would be enough for her to get her a car and get out of Kingston and out of Seattle. Enough to start her off with a new scam in a new town. The thought of leaving Kingston was making her heart race. It was something she thought about all the time but not something she was sure she could actually do. She had lived her entire life in the freakishly small town and the thought of passing its boarders and living somewhere else sounded like hell. But the thought of staying inside of the town where she would surely get picked up for killing someone sounded like something a little worse than hell. 

Standing up and stripping off her clothes she headed to her bathroom and began to turn on the hot water. Five minutes later she was padding back into her room, changing and adding clothes into a suitcase. She had poured herself another glass knowing she shouldn’t but that it would keep the memory of what she had done at bay. 

She was closing up her suitcase when her phone pinged a message. Pushing her still wet hair behind her ear she leaned over to read it. 

Trev: you’re in deep shit Beth, and you know it. At least sell me some of Henry’s bud before you try to skip town. It’s the only smart move. If you try to cross state borders with that crap in your car, they’re going to haul you off to federal prison on intent to sell charges. 

Beth: Okay… Meet me at Horn Ave in 20 minutes. I want cash. 

“ Shit shit shit.” Beth muttered before throwing on a coat and grabbing her slammed full suitcase.

Jessica was keeping a close watch on the speedometer in her car. She knew that if she took off speeding, she would get pulled over and she didn’t know if she was going to be able to keep cool if that happened. In the rear view mirror she could see the clothes and laptop she had tossed haphazardly into the backseat when she was leaving her apartment. She only needed to be gone for a few weeks. Just a few weeks until whatever had happened had blown over and then she could go back to her normal life. 

Her left leg was throbbing all the way from the top of the cast too the bottom. She knew that running down the stairs the way she had, had probably only made her leg worse than it already was. 

The city limit sign for Kingston came into view, quicker than she could have hoped and she was feeling this weightless feeling. She was getting away. Whatever thing that had happened last night, whatever had happened to her in the last few weeks was now behind her. She didn’t have any money or food but she just knew that she was going to be okay. 

Just as she was about to pass the sign for Kingston she looked down at her phone for the directions and then back up. She slammed on her breaks with a scream when she realized in front of her was a man standing in the middle of the road. He was tall and staring at her with an intense look on his face. 

Jessica’s lips parted and her chest started to hammer in her chest. He was there for one second and then the next he was standing outside of her door In the speed it took for her to blink. A scream tore from her lips as she tried to climb over her seat to the passenger side. 

There was a loud whine and rip and Jessica turned to see that the man had in fact ripped off the door to her car. That wasn’t possible. It wasn’t. How had he moved so quickly? No one was strong enough to rip off an entire car door. 

“I hate when they run.” The man had a soft but incredibly deep voice as he leaned into the car and peered into her fear filled eyes.

“You won’t make me chase will you?” He asks softly a smirk on his face. There was a hand on her leg without a cast and he was pulling her out of the car as if she was a piece of tissue. 

She was suddenly standing- no leaning against the car her heart beating so loud she could hear it in her ears. What was happening to her? She could feel the fear pumping through her veins as she struggled against the strong hand that held her pinned to the car. 

 

The man in front of her had beautiful brown skin and full almost pouty lips that spread out over a smile. 

“I’m going to move my hand off of you neck because I want to speak with you. And you won’t run because you know I’ll catch you.. right?” The man said coolly and calmly but his eye contact was strong and unmoving. 

Jessica found the strength to nod and the hand around her neck loosened and his hand was down at his waist. 

He took a deep breath and smiled. 

“I’m Mar. And you’re going to answer my questions.” 

Jessica felt her legs shaking underneath her. 

“What do you want from me?” 

 

Jordyn stretched and looked out her window to see Janet waving before entering her apartment. With a satisfied sigh Jordyn threw her car into reverse and backed out of the parking spot and the apartment structure. 

She was feeling better now that the sun had risen and she and Janet had gotten breakfast and she had taken her back home. By the time she was walking up the stairs to her apartment Janet had seemed a lot less shaken. 

The streets were so familiar to Jordyn that she was on autopilot as she drove back to her apartment. She couldn’t get over the way that Brendon had caught up to them so quickly the last night. Or how Janet didn’t want to call someone. It all seemed to be a little suspicious but she liked Janet so she was willing to let it go. 

Back at her apartment before she could even realize that she had driven all the way there, she was turning of her car and walking towards her front Door. 

She stopped in her tracks when she realized that the front door was wide open. She had most definitely   
Hadn’t left the door open. She gripped her keys tight in between her fingers ready to slash someone. She entered the apartment as quietly as she could. 

She gasped when she realized that all of her things had been tossed about. It looked as if a tornado had rolled through her apartment. She moved across the floor quietly walking into the hallways. She didn’t see anyone and she began to think that someone had robbed her apartment and had left before she had gotten back into the apartment. 

That was until she heard a crash form her bedroom and she stopped moving. Her breath caught in her throat. Whoever was robbing her was still in the apartment. 

She looked towards the door for a possible escape route without making too much noise. She turned to make a run for it pumping her legs fast. There was a small breeze next to her and the open door shut hard and in place of the sun shine from outside was a man standing there. 

The scream that erupted from her chest sounded unnatural and twangy. Who was this man and why was he here? And how did he move so quickly? 

The man walked towards anger seemed to be boiling on his face. 

“Wh-what do you want?” She asked. She didn’t ask Who Are you, because in truth she didn’t care. She just wanted him out of her house. 

“What do you know about the murder of Brendon Frank?” The man asked. 

Jordyn blinked. “Wh-what?” She stuttered out. 

The man sighed let his face fall in hands for a moment. “I don’t fucking have time for this.” 

In the next moment Jordyn was being held above the ground a hand on her through pressing hard on her neck. The oxygen was leaving her and she could not breath. 

“I am only going to ask you one more time. What do you know about the murder of Brendon Frank?” 

 

Beth took a deep breath as she shut the door to her car that was directly at the intersection of Horn and Dale ave. She had chosen the spot because it was just a street of deserted homes and collapsing businesses. Even if there was something standing around, they wouldn’t be the type to say anything about something suspicious going down. 

A car pulled up right behind her and Beth took off her sunglasses that were hiding her tear ruined eyes and cheeks. She felt immediately that something was not right. She knew for a fact that Trev didn’t drive a luxury car. In fact she didn’t know anyone who drove one. 

She felt this sinking feeling in her gut that the police had just rolled up on her. She sunk back into her car as quickly as she cool sticking her keys into the ignition to try and drive off as fast as possible. There was a car door slam and suddenly the passenger seat was being ripped open and a man was sitting in the car next to her. 

“That wasn’t a smart move Luv.” Said the man next to her. Liz went to unlock her car door and run but there was another lightning fast sound and the door handle was no longer there. 

What the fuck was happening? 

“What- what is happening? Who are you?” 

The man next to her smiled sadly at her. 

“Well. I’ll make this easy on you. I work with… the powers that be here in our small little town of Kingston. And the powers that be lifted your finger prints of a burning car in the parking lot of the high school. And see. Henry Bogart was a piece of shit. But he was a piece of shit racketing lots of money for the powers that be.” 

The man was looking at her as if he was apologetic, But Beth’s heart was hammering in her chest. 

“So the powers that be sent me to find you, track you down, the whole nine and see exactly what it is you know.” 

“Know? Know about what? I don’t – I don’t know anything.” 

“You know…” Harry said before shaking his head sadly. “I don’t believe you. And that’s a shame because you are beautiful.” 

There was a flash movement and suddenly she was screaming. There was a burning sensation In her neck and her wrist felt as if she had stuck it directly into a fire. 

The man pulled back in a flash and Beth almost passed out from the sight of blood dripped from fangs In his mouth. 

He was wincing and looking down at his wrist. There in his skin as if he had been burned was a symbol of two birds. Beth looked down at her own wrist and there was the same symbol. 

“What the hell?” The man asked. 

While he was distracted Beth made a grabbing motion for the door. He seemed to realize what she was doing and he grabbed her face hard underneath the chin and stared directly into her face. 

“Sleep.” He said and she closed her eyes and promptly went to sleep. 

 

Jessica felt like she was glued to the side of her car door. There was a man standing in front of her and he had literally ripped her from her car. She didn’t see any weapon on him but that’s what made him scarier. There was no one around for miles and no one was going to hear her screaming. Running didn’t seem like a smart option either. His one condition not to choke her out was to not run. He would catch her. And as she looked him up and down she didn’t doubt that this was true. 

“What the hell do you want from me?” Jessica asked sounding much more brave and confident than she felt. 

Mar smirked slightly. “You’re a bit bold for a human.” 

Jessica felt her eyebrows rise. What the hell was he talking about?

“For a Human? “ She asked still backing her vocals with a force that she didn’t really have. 

“Never mind that.” Mar was saying. His smirk was gone and he looked frustrated as if she had distracted him or something. 

“Tell me what it is you were doing waiting outside the town bank last night.” 

Jessica felt her heart pitter patter to a stop and then relief suddenly flooded her all at once. She realized what was going on. He was a cop. A cop that hit the gym so regularly that he could pull people out of cars and catch her if she tried to run. It didn’t explain his “For a human” comment but it made her feel only slightly better. 

In her mind she was much more willing to go to jail then to be brutally murdered by… whoever this man was. 

He was watching her face and Jessica wondered what emotions were happening on her face. She opened her mouth and her voice was rougher than usual. 

“Um. I was at home.” She said unconvincingly. 

The smirk was back. “Can anyone corroborate that story?” 

Jessica was silent again and she bit her lip. No. She didn’t have an alibi and this man knew it. 

Suddenly he was close to her and she could feel his breath on her face. 

“Security cameras put your car right on the street when the bank was robbed. And you know what else you left behind? Two dead bodies. Can you explain that?” 

Two dead bodies. Jessica blinked. Mar was looking deep into her eyes and she felt compelled to tell the truth. 

“I was the getaway car.” She blurted. “I was waiting in the street for Matt and Tom but when they came out I looked down for just a second and then they were gone. There was some scary shadow standing over where they had been. I was freaked out so I drove off.” 

She slapped a hand over her mouth. Why had she said that? It was almost like she had no control over it. 

The man stepped back and he was frowning deeply. He seemed to be thinking. 

“ And this figure… You didn’t see what it was?” 

“Don’t you mean who?” She asked her voice quivering. 

Mar sighed, looked up at the sky as if she had told him the worst news. 

“No, I don’t.” It was quiet for a moment and then said. “I’m sorry about this but orders are orders and you already know to much.” 

There was only a second of panic that Jessica felt and then there was a burning in her neck. She felt strong hands on her arms. Then there was a stabbing pain on her upper arm. 

The pain on her neck quickly receded and she leaned against the car for balance. She looked at Mar who was standing there confused and dazed. There was blood dripping from fangs in his teeth. She felt like the floor had been taken from underneath her. No, no no no, this wasn’t happening. 

Eyebrows furrowed Marlon rolled up his sleeves up to his shoulder. There against his dark brown skin was a deep black burn. It was settling in and turning black but even in the sun Jessica could see that it was a twisting snake.   
Jessica sucked in a breath when he moved to her and rolled her sleeve up. 

“Shit.” He murmured. “What are the fucking odds?” 

“Please just let me go.” Jessica cried. 

He grabbed her by the face and stared at her again intently. And she felt like she wanted to do whatever he asked her to do. 

“Sleep.” He said softly. 

 

Jordyn was gasping for oxygen clawing at the arm that was holding her above the air. She couldn’t think she couldn’t breath. She was sure that she was going to die. 

Then suddenly she was being dropped back on the ground. She fell to her knees choking. She was gasping in air to fill her lungs. She was sure she was hyperventilating. The man crouched down next to her as she looked up. She wanted to cry because the man was beautiful and very very scary looking. 

“What do you know about the murder of Brendon Frank.” 

“i- I don’t know who that is!” She said. “Please what is this who are you?” 

There was a pause and he was grabbing her by the shoulders and standing her back up. He was looking at her hard now. 

“He was spotted at Johnny’s yesterday. You work there correct?” 

It all clicked at once. Brendon. The creepy asshole who tried to grab Janet only the night before. He must be in some kind of trouble and now there was someone there choking her out to get information. 

“There was a – a man yesterday at Johnny’s.” She said stumbling over her words. Maybe if she told this guy what she knew he would leave her alone. And she would move. Go to the police. And then she would move. 

The man was looking at her to continue. She took a deep breath and she could still feel the ghost of his fingers around her neck. 

“He was there for my co-worker. He was her ex or something and he was just sitting there waiting for the shop to close. I asked him to leave and when it was time to shut down we made a run for the car but he was running after us. We made It In the car but he caught up to us somehow. I drove away before he could kill us. That’s all I know please.” 

The man was looking in her face as if he could tell if she was lying just from her facial features. And maybe he could. 

He nodded seeming to be satisfied with her answer. 

“And so you didn’t see this Brendon guy after that at all?” 

Jordyn shook her head. “ N-no… What is this about? “ 

The man pressed his lips together. “Brendon Frank was found dead in a ditch next to the interstate this morning.” 

Jordyn’s mouth fell open. She shouldn’t be surprised. A guy like that would have no problem getting into some trouble and getting killed for it. But still the thought that she had just seen him yesterday outside her car window sent shivers down her spine. 

The man looked almost apologetic now. “I’m sorry about this. It’s nothing personal you see, we can’t have any witnesses. You already know too much.” 

Jordyn took an involuntary step backwards. 

“I- I – I wont tell anyone you can trust me. I work at Johnny’s and you know it’s illegal. Whatever is going on I promise I can keep a secret.” 

The man shook his head and his hair was shifting a bit from side to side. 

“I’m sorry.” He said again. There was a blur in front of Jordyn’s eyes and then suddenly there were strong hands gripping her arms. There was an unbelievable pain at her neck and she was screaming. Then there was a horrible burn on her ankle. She was screaming and it felt like she was dying. 

This burn didn’t last long however and the man was stubling back from her. Jordyn fell down on her butt as she saw the fangs and blood on his face. He had been drinking her blood. 

He looked at her strangely and lifted his pants and exposed his ankle. There what looked like burns and dark lines was a symbol of a beautiful blossoming flower. 

“Holy fuck!” The man exclaimed. 

Jordyn saw his look of panic as he looked back at her but everything got blurry as Jordyn passed out. 

Ashley had already excepted the fact that she was going to die where she was. She was sitting in a small box room with her arms tied behind her back and then too the chair. The room was freezing and she was shivering with every part of her body.   
She wondered If she put her face down on the table and went to sleep if she would die peacefully. She had been sitting there since the night before. The tall man dressed in all black had brought her down here, closed the door and had not returned. 

It was hour thirteen and she was starting to give up when the door squeaked open. The man in black was back. But this time he was wearing a smart suit that seemed extremely tailored for him. It suited him almost unnaturally well. It was a deep purple and she could guess that it was a velvet. 

He pulled back the chair that was in front of her on the other side of the table and sat down. He looked her up and down before giving her a smile. 

“Do you believe in Fate… Ashley?” He asked. His voice was soft and not nearly as smug as it had been outside of the casino. His hands were rubbing against each other smoothly but his eyes never left hers. 

“Who are you?” Ashley asked and his smile only widened. 

“I believe in fate.” He said. “My family is very very old and my parents used to tell me stories about fate. How fate wasn’t just a word or a feeling. That it was a being that used to walk the earth and change things as it saw fit. It would hand out life lessons like candy. A little bit of humble hear, a little bit of patience there. But no one’s seen fate for hundreds of years.” 

Ashley’s frowned deeper. 

“Why am I here? So you can talk me to death?” 

The man laughed. He seemed surprised that she had spoken so boldly. 

He stood up and began to pace in front of the table. 

“You are here. Because fate has reared its magical hand and brought you too me. You were close to Steve Harrison… and somehow you’ve managed to learn about the casino, what we do here and .. what we are.” 

He said it like a statement and not a question. He put his hands on the table and was leaning forward towering over her. 

“It truly is unfortunate. That you know so much. That much natural detective skills is rare.” 

He continued to pace again looking at the walls and not her. 

“You’ve managed to make quiet the fuss around town. Screaming about vampires and money schemes. Poor Jason had come here tonight to beg for your life.” 

Ashley felt her heart stop she looked at him and he looked back at her solemnly. 

“Like I said it’s unfortunate that the Harrison brothers should have such an…untimely exit. Especially when they both loved you so much.” 

Tears were streaming down Ashley’s face now.   
She had spent weeks after Steve disappeared, trying to find out what happened to him. She dug into every little thread the town had to offer and she had stumbled upon the driving force of the town. Vampires. It had taken her weeks to accept it. She thought maybe it was her grief driving her to believe something so ridiculous but now as she was tied to the chair crying she knew that she had been right. They were real.

“ What did you do to them?” She asked softly under her tears.

He sat back down in his chair slowly.   
“ I wondered. How did you pick? There was Jason the town hero, next in line for sheriff. Rough around the edges granted but he’s a nice boy. But you picked Steve. Broken down war vet. With a certain knack for getting into trouble. They were both in love with you, I’m sure you knew that.. so how did you choose.” 

The tears were falling down quick now. Her own life was one thing but the monster in front of her was talking as if both Steve and Jason were dead. 

“Oh! Maybe you didn’t know about Jason.” He seemed to be genuinely interested. “Shame. He walked straight into the lion’s den for you.” 

He stood again. “ I must apologize if I seem to be torturing you. I just get… so bored sometimes. And humans interest me. So…complicated, full of emotions. I am sorry to say that you are too close to this. You know too much and you wont stop looking for answers, So you have to be taken care off.” 

Ashley hadn’t stopped crying. Truth was she knew she was going to die in this room. But the thought that Steve and Jason were lying dead somewhere had broken whatever spirit she had left. 

“Just do it.” She whispered. 

There was a pause and then she felt teeth sink into her neck. It hurt but it seemed to be a distant pain compared to the burning that was happening on her chest. Was she having a heart attack? 

The teeth were gone from her neck and she looked up to see the man on the other side of the room blood dripping from fangs in his mouth. He looked down and popped open his expensive shirt. There in dark burns was the symbol of what looked like a compass. 

He looked at her confusion settling in his wild eyes. Ashley blinked and he was gone and the door was shut once again. She dropped her head on the desk. Maybe she was hallucinating. Maybe this wasn’t real.

Steve… she wanted Steve.


	3. 3

Calum was accustomed to having the library all to himself. He was comfortable there among the rows and rows of thick, old scented books. There was no other place that he adored as much as the library that was located far underneath the casino. When it was built, the library had been a sort of headquarters. He remembered how ugly and bland the place had been. 

Now he was sitting criss cross apple sauce in the middle of the library a mocha frap next to him as he flipped the pages of a large vampire volume. He was happy and things were good. 

So when the door swung open and he could just smell Ashton coming into the library, Calum took a big sigh. Ashton always disturbed his reading. And usually he was happy to help everyone but he had just got comfortable. 

In a flash Ashton was standing in front of him. He was wiping blood of his fangs. Calum smirked. 

“I’m assuming the pretty girl you had locked up is dispatched then? You’re not so usually messy with your food Ashton.” 

Ashton looked stressed and he ran a hand through his hair. 

“I couldn’t.” Ashton said cryptically. Calum closed the book he was reading, grabbed his coffee and stood up to Ashton’s level. Calum’s eyebrows raised as he spoke back to his friend. 

“Couldn’t….. kill her you mean? What stopped you?”

“I went to drain her, and as soon as I bit her I felt this horrible pain all over my body. And then on my chest it felt like it was burning.” 

Ashton popped open the buttons of his shirt and Calum’s eyebrows shot even higher. He stepped forward pressing a finger under the burn that was almost gone and in its place were thick black lines where Calum assumed the burns had been. 

“Holy shit.” Calum breathed out. 

“Do you know that this is?” Ashton asked wincing at Calum’s poking and proding. 

“Hold on.” Calum said and then he was using his speed to zip around the library. Ashton heard Calum muttering to himself all the way across the library until her heard a snap and then Calum was speeding back and putting the book down on the table in front of them. 

The cover was solid black and had no title on it. Calum cracked open the book that was a quarter size of the table. He put his finger on some of the words that didn’t seem to be in English and he traced his fingers reading at vampire speed. 

“Here!” Calum said pointing at a large picture of something on the page. Ashton came around the table where Calum was. There on the wax like paper was the same compass that was now on his chest. 

“That’s it!” Ashton said. “What does it mean? “ 

Calum looked up at Ashton awe feeling in his eyes. 

“I thought I was right but I had to be sure. This.” Calum poked at the burn secretly enjoying Ashton ‘s winces. “Is a Herem. Roughly translated to a soulmate mark. Like a tattoo or whatever.” 

Calum flipped some more pages. “They are incredibly rare.” 

“A soulmate mark? Doesn’t that only happen between-“ 

Calum cut Ashton off. “Vampires and Elves? Yeah.” 

“That’s impossible.” Ashton breathed out. “All the Elves were killed off thousands of years ago.” 

Calum shook his finger to Ashton. “While the history books say that Nadia, the queen of the Elves, killed all of the elves herself. There is a theory that Elves were being hunted by Vampires and Nadia stripped the Elves of their powers until the time came that they would need them to protect themselves.” 

Ashton shook his head. “Why would the vamps be hunting down the elves it doesn’t make sense.” 

“Well. Soulmate marks aren’t just about lovey dovey bullshit. They were created so that Vampires and elves could harness each other’s powers and be more powerful. Typically, only royal family could create genuine soulmate marks. Anyways back in the day vamps would hunt down elves and create bonds even if they weren’t pure.” 

“How did they do that?” Ashton asked. 

Calum sighed. “It’s pretty gruesome but they used a combination of black magic and draining elves to take their power. It created these super strong vampires that would drain elves left and right. But it left them not right. They weren’t really vampires anymore. They were something else.” 

Ashton was speechless and the room was quiet as they thought about what Calum had just said.   
“So your saying that…. The girl… she’s an… elf?” 

“And apparently your soulmate.” Calum finished. “Awkward.” 

Ashton was going to keep asking more questions when both Calum and Ashton’s phone ringer went off. 

Ashton looked down and saw that an emergency meeting was being called in the meeting room. 

“Bring that book with you.” Ashton said to Calum and he went to grab it. “ I have a feeling that we’re going to need it.” 

 

“Wait… you wanna run that by me again?” Louis asked he was one of four people standing in the meeting room. Ashton was sitting back at the head of the table. He sighed and turned to his left where Calum was and gave him an imploring look. 

Calum turned back to the group. “It seems like the girls you bit….were elves.” 

“Elves.” Louis said in disbelief. “You mean like have been dead for thousands of years. The ultimate killing machines. Created by Nadia, Elves.” 

Calum nodded. And Louis shook his head. 

“This doesn’t make any sense. “Marlon said. “Lets say for argument sake the elves are still among us. It doesn’t make sense that these random four girls are our soulmates.” 

“It’s feels huge coincidence that the same four girls that were causing us trouble are the same ones that end up being our .. soulmates.” Ashton said shaking his head. 

“So what do we do?” Harry said. It was the first time that he had spoken since they had all explained that they had each kidnapped a girl and was holding them in the basement of the casino. 

“Well you can’t kill them.” Calum said. Everyone turned to him. He shrugs his shoulders. “I know that’s always the solution around here, but this time that can’t happen. That tattoo you all got today is a symbol of the bond you have with that person. The tattoo makes it so whatever happens to one person happens to the other. So killing your soulmate is basically killing yourself.” 

“Wait wait wait.” Marlon said. “So your saying. If something happens to one of them, it would hapeen to us?” 

“In theory.” Calum said. “Every stubbed toe, to a bullet wound.” 

Louis sat down hard on one of the chairs covering his mouth.   
“We could compel them.” Harry said quietly. Everyone shifted to give him attention again. He was looking at Ashton now a grim look on his face. 

“Compell them to forget the last 48 hours, drop them back into the town wherever we left them like nothing happened.” 

“What if they start asking questions about all the time they’re missing?” Luke asked. 

“We can keep an eye on them.” Marlon said. “Make sure they don’t start asking questions.” 

“And If what your saying about our bond is right, then we’re going to have to give them protection.” Louis continued. His arms were crossed over his chest now. 

There was a quiet in the room and they were all waiting for Ashton to agree or to come up with a different idea.   
It seemed like an eternity before Ashton nodded. He seemed to have been doing some calculations in his head. 

“Alright.” He said. “we don’t have another plan so.. this will have to do for now. Compell the girls, drop them off in the hospital and get the doctors to tell them some kind of story about why they can’t remember anything.” 

 

Dear Steve, 

I’m writing this from the hospital. Don’t worry I’m alright. I just can’t remember anything that happened. The doctor said that I got hit by a car or something. It’s really strange because I don’t have any bruises or anything. I feel fine…. How are you? I’m writing cause it’s easier to think you can read this rather than…. Thinking your dead. As soon as I can I’ll be back at the casino. I know, I know I shouldn’t but I can’t let this go. 

I love you   
\- Ash

 

Beth was thirsty. Like thirsty. She hadn’t ever felt a thirst so strong before. She needed water and the only thing she could think about was getting water. She pushed back the hospital bed covers and tested her feet on the floor. She felt alright. She remembered her doctors telling her that she had been in a car pile up and that she’d been hit in the rear and that she’s run over someone else.

It was freaking her out that she couldn’t remember what had happened over the last two days. But she didn’t feel bad physically. She stood up and went to the floor mirror next to the door. She examined herself moving her hair past her face. And that’s when she noticed it. There was a large tattoo on her wrist. Two beautifully sketched birds were on her wrist. 

“What the fuck.” She said out loud pressing her fingers to the dark lined tattoo. 

She closed her eyes and tried her hardest to remember getting a tattoo before she had blacked out. There was nothing. She felt her heart rate picking up. What the hell was going on? 

All she knew was that she needed water. She peaked her head out into the hallway to see If there was a nurse somewhere in the hallway but there was no one. 

She slipped out into the hallway after pushing a trashcan in front of her room door. The door closed on the trashcan bending it slightly in the middle. She waked down the hallway looking around but finding no one. She thought it was strange how empty the wing of the hospital was. 

That’s when she came upon a door. It was open and Beth glanced in and saw another girl who looked to be her age laying in the bed on her phone typing away. And on the bed next to her was a tall glass of cold water. 

Before Beth could think she crossed the threshold into the girl’s room. The girl looked up and stared at Beth in confusion. 

“Who are you?” The girl asked. She didn’t sound upset, just confused. 

“I- I’m Beth.” Beth said. “I got into some kind of car accident and I woke up next door. But I’m so thirsty and there aren’t any nurses. Can I have some of your water?” 

Beth pointed to the water and the girl looked back at her cautiously before nodding. 

“yeah, sure.” 

Beth hurried over to the bed, grabbed the cup and drank heavily. Why was she so thirsty? She put the cup back down empty feeling guilty for drinking all the girls water. 

“You weren’t kidding about being thirsty.” The girl said with a small smile. “I’m Ashley. I woke up in here today to. The doctors said I got hit by a car.” 

Beth covered her mouth. Did she hit this girl?

“Oh my gad.” She said. She pointed to herself. “Did I – did I hit you?” 

Damn her for not remembering anything. Ashley shrugged her arms, the smile hadn’t left her lips in fact it got a bit bigger. 

“I don’t know, I can’t remember. Don’t worry about it though. I feel surprisingly good. No harm no foul.” 

Ashley moved her legs to the ground and stood up. She smiled at Beth and stuck her hand out to shake. 

Beth shook it and Ash’s eyebrows raised as she looked at her arm. 

“Nice tat!” Ash exclaimed. “It’s beautiful.” 

Beth was caught off guard by the mention of the tattoo that she never remembered getting. 

“Oh thanks… Truth is I can’t really remember getting it.” 

“Hm.” Ashley said. “Sounds like we both are suffering from some memory loss.” 

Beth nodded and it was quiet in the room before she pointed at Ash. 

“And is that a tattoo as well?” 

“Huh?” Ash looked down at her chest and saw the peaking of a tattoo on her chest. Her breath caught in her throat and she moved passed Beth to the mirror. 

“What the fuck?” Ash said pulling down the shirt and revealing the large and intricate tattoo of the compass on her chest. 

Ash spun on her heels to look at Beth. 

“Am I being pranked or something? Cause it’s not funny.” 

“What are you talking about?” Beth asked her eyes wide. 

“This tattoo. I… I don’t remember getting it.” 

Beth was about to open her mouth when two other girls entered the room looking at them as if they were their saviors. 

“Hello?” One of them said. The other girl just stood next to her looking confused. 

“Who- Who are you?” Beth asked. 

“I’m Jordyn.” The girl in the front said. She pointed at the other girl. “This is Jessica. We uh.. we just met.” 

Ashley and Beth looked at each other and then back at the other girls. 

“Let me guess.” Ashley said. “You woke up here today. And you don’t remember anything?” 

Jordyn and Jessica looked surprised. “How did you know?” Jessica asked.   
Ashley pointed between her and Beth. “Well I’m Ashley and this is Beth and the same thing happened to us. We woke up and don’t remember the last 48 or so hours. And we have these strange tattoos- “ 

“Tattoos?” Jordyn interrupted. She looked at Jessica and Jessica stepped forward and pushed the hospital fabric off of her shoulder and there was a tattoo of two snakes. It was beautiful and twisting around each other. One snake was darker than the other and the lighter snake seemed to be traveling upwards while the other was traveling down. 

“Wow.” Beth breathed out. It was breathtakingly beautiful. 

“I have one to.” Jordyn said and she lifted the bottom of her gown to expose her ankle. There on her ankle was two flowers. There was amazing detail in each of the flowers and they seemed to bloom together. 

“This is beyond freaky.” Ashley said. “All four of us wake up in the hospital after a car accident with tattoos we have no idea how we got, and no recollection of the last 48 hours?” 

“Do you think we’ve been kidnapped?” Jessica asked her voice suddenly overcome with fear. 

“We walked up and down the halls.” Jordyn said. “There aren’t any nurses or staff anywhere.” 

“No nurses?” Beth asked her eyebrows shooting up. She didn’t think they had been kidnapped but it was freaking her out. 

Ash had her arms crossed like she was deep in thought. 

“I don’t think we’ve been kidnapped.” She said finally. “ They let us keep out cellphones and there isn’t anything stopping us from walking into each others room and talking to each other. I think… we should try and leave though.” 

“Without getting discharged?” Jordyn asked. 

“I mean I feel fine.” Beth said and Jessica nodded. 

“Me too. I don’t feel like I’ve been in a car accident.” 

“Neither do I.” Ashley agreed. “ I think we should grab our stuff and leave. Then we can I don’t know meet up and try and figure out what is going on with us.” 

Everyone seemed to agree and dispersed to their separate rooms grabbing what little things they had on them, and changing back into their street clothes. Some of them had bags and things and others just had what was in their pockets. 

After a few minutes everyone met back in the hallway looking around nervously. 

“Why do I feel like I’m doing something wrong?” Beth asked following close behind her new found acquaintances. 

“This whole place feels wrong.” Jessica said. “I’m ready to get out and remember what happened to me.” 

The girls walked down the hallway to the exit and pushed open the double doors. In front of them was more abandoned hospital. There was another exit door and they went to It and tried to open it but it wouldn’t budge. 

“Please tell me we aren’t locked in here.” Ashley said her breath catching. 

“There’s another door here!” Jessica said. She pushed on it and nothing budged. 

“Shit.” Beth said. The only other door in the room was the emergency exit. 

“If we push that open the alarm might ring.” Jordyn said. “And whoever is holding us here will know we left.” 

Before anyone else could say anything, there was a voice that startled all of them. It was one of the nurses coming into the room a concerned look on her face. 

“What are you all doing out of your rooms?” Her voice was high pitch and shrill. She was looking behind her back down the hallway they had come from. She closed the door behind her as the girls huddled closer to each other. 

The nurse came closer a frantic look on her faces. 

“Who are you? Why are you keeping us here?” Jessica asked, her fist was balled. She got angry when she was scared. 

The nurse raised her hands as if she was surrendering to them. 

“Look. All I know is that they brought you in last night and told us that you had been in car crashes and too look after you, and report anything strange. We do as we’re told around here.” 

“Who’s they.” Beth asked. 

The nurse shrugged. “I don’t know. They talk to my boss and my boss gives me orders. This is a special wing for when there are special incidents.”   
“What are you talking about?” Jordyn asked. “What about a car accident is special?” 

The nurse shrugged again. “Look like I said I don’t know. All I know Is that something shady is going on in this town. And you all look like you got mixed in with the wrong group or something. I have a daughter your age and I wouldn’t ever want to see her come through here. Please-“ 

She moved to the locked door that Jessica had discovered and took out her keys and unlocked it. 

“Don’t tell anyone I helped you and get out of town as soon as possible. This towns not safe.” 

With that the nurse was leaving the room. The four girls looked at each other. They had been strangers before this but now suddenly they were united in one thought. To get the hell out of the hospital.


End file.
